New Town Center

New Town Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places under Politics and Government, as an early and sizeable example of the General Services Administration (GSA) policy of the consolidation and decentralization of leased space in suburban Washington, DC in the mid-20th century. This strategy, which began in 1950 and continued through the 1960s, was both fantastically pragmatic – the threat of nuclear attack destroying the Capital in one blow – and fiscally prudent – the suburbs offered cheaper, larger and more flexible real estate offerings. The development of New Town Center, which also began in the 1950s, began as a large-scale, suburban, speculative office development but capitalized on this approach to finance its construction and relied on it for a consistent tenant base. By targeting itself to Federal agencies under the oversight of the GSA, the majority of Metro 1 and Metro 2 were leased before construction was complete.

Powers & Company, Inc. was initially hired to develop a Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives application for Metro 2. As part of this process, Powers & Company, Inc. also successfully listed the entire complex on the National Register of Historic Places.